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And Marcus Freeman, he met with the media on Monday. And Coach Freeman was elated, but this was what he said about the game and his overall thoughts. Check it out, ladies and gents. Team Nguyen in a great environment on Saturday. A lot of individuals did some really good things. As you watch back and evaluate film, but I'm most proud of how we played complementary football. It was important to play complementary football when two really good teams go at it. And we went to battle a field position, which was a major key for us. And then we won a turnover margin. Those two things were vital for us to have success on Saturday. The defense played really well. Two turnovers were huge and holding A&M to field goals two out of those three times when they were in our territory was key. And that was something we emphasized. And offensively to not make a crucial mistake, right, versus a really, really good defense was key. We had to protect the football. And we did that by not turning the ball over and being effective offensively. To finish the fourth quarter with an eight play, 85 yard TD drive was that was the difference, right? We knew it was going to be a battle the entire game. And that's really the moment where we were able to say, okay, we have this. We got the game and we did a good job defensively following that. And then we finished with the field goal. You know Mitch, special teams wise, with Mitch going three for three, that was major. That was major. And then, you know, I thought our kickoff coverage did, kickoff coverage unit did a really good job of pinning them back a couple of times. And those points are all key when you talk about winning the battle of field position. And that was, they all contribute to that. You did a player to game on offense was Riley Leonard. Defense was Xavier Watson and special teams was Mitch Jeter. And then the special, sorry about the scout players of the week were on offense Justin Fisher, on defense Kobe on UK. And special teams was Cam Williams. Yeah, I don't know about that offensive player at the game. But I'm not feeling that at all. Yeah, no way. I watched that game three times. There's no way Riley Leonard was the offensive MVP of that game. No, no, I know he didn't turn the ball over. He didn't make the big mistake. But like I said, he missed multiple, multiple wide open opportunities for big plays, multiple. Yeah, like you get the Xavier Watson interception at the end of the half and you're in A&M territory and you can't do anything. Nah. But the two running backs for the players in the game. College football nation. What's going on? Marking on the second here. Get inside access to the college football world and beyond every week. That's three time national champion head coach Urban Meyer announced a Rob Stone and I take you from the field into the locker room and beyond discussing the top moments in college and pro sports. Plus conversations with the biggest name from every corner of entertainment delivered to you at home or on the road. Watch triple option on YouTube or listen on Apple podcast Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. Absolutely. That game turned on the two running backs. Riley Leonard can't be the player game with no passing touchdowns. No 198 rushing yards against the defense test. Supposedly formidable this that third and they were the game winning scores of the game. The biggest plays of the game came from the running game. Jadarian Price kicked it off with that amazing run. Jadarian Price finished off the game with a game ceiling touchdown. So yeah, I mean, that's a no brainer. I don't know why. But you know, we do that. We love the cake to that, you know, circumstance. But rather than it, like I said, it was a in my opinion, calming factor because he runs the ball so much he is a good opportunity for ball control. You know, he's not going to put the ball in jeopardy due to him having the skill set of running the football and being a playmaker. He understands the importance of ball carriage. So you're going to have opportunities to run the clock down with a guy like that and play a smart quote unquote. So those are some of the attributes you can expect. But yeah, you're definitely some of the negatives are, you know, conversely throwing the football, being explosive in that way. Michael Park here at Buck Wild for saying he was the running game MVP. That's actually hilarious. Yeah, I mean, we didn't have any passing touchdowns. Marcus Williams. So idea, we just coach, I know you probably it's probably a method to the madness after watching film, but no, two million dollars talk along. It goes a long way. You got it. I mean, you know what? I'm not gonna I'm not gonna count that man's pockets. It's not it's not even it's not it's not Riley Leonard having the two million. It's the two million and what it what it requires. What it requires. You're gonna have to acknowledge that every time. Why it's better than that. That's all I'll say. The money not being cashed in to the end of the season and somebody I'm in the chat because I don't want to go back and lose my spot. But somebody in the chat said he won the game in a book one game. Like I I'm tired of that. We're not going to that's not that's not winning the championship. I thought we were all on board winning the next championship. Oh, no, we're not about to let him cake is too early in the season. And in book on championships that ain't that's not it. That's that's not it. I said last week, did I not left? I expected him to struggle. So I wasn't shocked that he struggled but I'm shocked that I expected him to struggle with certain things. I didn't expect him to throw to skip rocks to wide over why I received now that I didn't expect that. The easy ones I expected I expected him to be able to make this the tough ones like the Devin Ford throw everybody jumps on him about to breaking out of a sack running away from a defender. Everybody else you can jump on his back about that. Um, no, I'm talking about the easy ones. Chris Mitchell over in the middle. Jeremiah Love, Eli Rarely. Like, Oh, Collins, the pendant falls and he's wide open. Those are the things that I'm a little bit concerned about. Like you need to hit the easy ones. If you hit the easy ones, we should be fine. We should be fine. But make no mistake, you're going to have to be special come play off. You're going to have some to make some special plays when you go up against good teams and nothing nothing Riley did was special. What was special? What was special was that you did your price run where he's back guys running 60 yards. What's special is how you did how how Jeremiah Love is finishing off the game with nice touch there on that special. Riley Leonard didn't do anything special. He did what we expected him to do. But he goes back to that. It goes back to why special was required from Riley in the playoffs. Yeah, they can do all the capin they want right now. Fine. Let that capin motivate him. And that's not too much to ask left. And it's not too much to ask. The stars, Quasars, George Jetson. No one was asking for that out of the world stuff. You know what I'm saying? Nobody's asking for the robot from lost in space. Oh, nobody's asking for that danger. Will Robinson, nobody's asking for that. We're literally asking this young man to not try to carry the squad and just be special when the time is calm. When it's time to be special, please special because it's going to be too glaring when you try to do too much because of who else we have on the team. You don't need you to run around late in the game when we can literally run the victory with our running backs. So when you get out and you mess up or you fall blue or something, all people are going to think about us. We got all these guys on the team like we could do all this and you doing any. See, you just put yourself in the bad spot. Yeah. Don't put yourself in the bad spot because everybody's just going to reflect on everybody else on the team that can do better than that. So that's my biggest advice is like hell, let it put it on them. Put the ball on them. So if they drop it, okay, we talk about something else. And I think that he'll learn through the season and through ups and downs. But the safe net and the whole reason why we keep talking about this is the offense a lot. You can make errors. You can have mistakes. Things can, you can grow within an offense where you can block up from when you've got time in the pocket. Everybody's mentioning the fact that, yeah, all these guys were open and Riley could have did this, could have did that. You know why he could have did that? And you know what nobody's saying? Oh, he had no time. Nobody's saying that. And so that's why I keep mentioning this. This is a bigger microscope for Riley Leonard. It's because at Duke, those skipping rocks will be excused by he don't have no time. He don't got no time. If he don't throw the first guy up, he's going to run around. He's getting hit. He's getting, they can't say that. Now they're saying, why is he not reading one and reading two and getting to the open guy? He's got time. This is where you get exposed when you're not a consistent passer. And you got time in the pocket. Anybody on TV is going to be like, Oh, I see a guy open. Oh, I see a guy open. Because you got time. If this was 2013, 2014, DeAndre Francois get Florida State offensive line, where he's just getting killed every time they may give you the excuse. Remember that opening that he's an opener where he didn't give you the excuse. Oh, oh, he's a playmaker. He's just, he's so tough. He can, he just stands in the pocket and takes hits and he's just doing what he can. That's what they did for Riley. But now Riley got a offensive line. He got time in the pocket. So now you have to grow your past game. Skipping rocks are unacceptable no more because there's dudes open. You got a professional game that now I got to look to the second and third receiver because I got time. You got time. You got time. You wasn't expected to do that at Duke because they like, he's Superman. He, man, he's going to take on the defensive line and run around and make a play and you don't need all that. If one's not open, stand in that thing, find Jordan Greyhouse, stand in that thing, find Eli Reard and, you know what I'm saying, we got playmakers. Yeah, he made the man, the third down, the third down throw the Greyhouse on the touchdown drive. It was a big time throw. Yes. Quick throw, big time throw. Yes. When his best throws on the night, Ho Collins did the majority of work because the throw to Bo Collins wasn't really back-show. No, Bo Collins just made a fantastic game. Okay. So, that's my point. You don't got to be perfect when you got a 6'5" guy. You don't got a 6'5" senior. You don't got to be perfect. It makes it easier to throw it over there. I mean, you got to think the mind of what you're going into. If you are a play calling, a head coach, a quarterback himself, he's like, "Man, listen, I'm not going to worry about accuracy. I was just throw it up to the 6'5" guy. Worst thing he can do, right? Worst thing he can do. I'm going to be sure I don't throw it out of bounds. That's why he threw it inside. But he tried to throw it up because he's 6'5. I mean, come on. But that goes back. I will say, it's very obvious that he's a leader like you pointed out left. And earning that C and Notre Dame as fast as he did? Yes. You tip your cap. That tells you something about that young man. We already knew he was tough as nails last year when he played Notre Dame. We knew that. We knew he was tough as nails. We found out he was a leader in the all season. Now, that next step, that next step, that's invaluable, come play off time. Nobody want to hear no talking. Can you consistently make the easy throws because you're going to have guys open? I said it, dude. The safety came down into the box. The vast majority of the time for Texas A&M. There were opportunities as you watched the film to take shots. Now, whether it was him being rushed because of the past rush, which I understand, I never played the position. So, I never try to tell the quarterback, hang in there. Take that extra half second. Most quarterbacks will tell me that's your job. That's your job to do that. But it's also your job to go through the progressions. And like you said, man, you pointed out all summer. Like, dude, he's sharing snaps and he didn't play in the spring. There's no way he's going to be ready to go full go in that game one. And on top of that, ladies and gentlemen, we told you last week that he might be a little fooled with what he was walking into when he stood before the media. And when asked about a big game to start a season, he said, I played plenty of big games. And we chuckled and said, no, bro, you, you've never experienced anything like this. Him go watch the game as the clock's running down. Go watch it. He stand on sideline and takes his helmet off. And he takes a big, deep breath because he knows I just got away with one. He knows it. Like, whoo. And then Brock walks up to him like, yeah, it's real. Like that goal helmet as a quarterback is real. Like you never felt a weight like that. You've never felt a weight like that. You've never played in a game like this. I like this because being the underdog planning his Notre Dame is totally different than being the quarterback to Notre Dame in front of 107,000. It's totally different. His levels to this. And I think the young man, you know, came to respect fully what he had walked into and accepted when he accepted the role of being the starting quarterback. I think he got a crash course in Saturday night. Thankfully, for all of us, he walked out of that out of Cal Field with a victory. Andy Milton fan with the GTB question, were you surprised and pressed with Riley Bennett's command of the offense and composure given the moment? I don't know. That's a big bag. Love. I don't know how you feel about that. Composure. Yes. Commanded the offense. No, I don't. I think left was honest saying his command of the offense wasn't really, he still, because you could tell, not going through the progressions. You know, he pretty much was in, see it, pre snap, which he talked about. If I'm not mistaken, let's play that clip left. This is what he said after the game. And I think it points to some of the things that he felt. I think I got rid of that. But after the game, I wish I still had it. After the game, he talked about, he got me. Coach Elco got me with some looks. He got me with some looks. And it's like that immediately tells you that he was heavily dependent upon pre snap look, which most quarterback, I mean, that's quarterback pre snap, knowing the picture. But then the great ones are able to recognize when you're trying to trick them, pre snap, but they're also able to quickly go from one, two, three in that three, three and a half seconds. You know, and so composure. Yes. Yeah, composure. Yes. He was very composed, very composed all night. But as far as, you know, having full control of the offense, I don't know. And then it was like considering the moment, like, because I will give more credit to the two freshmen on the offensive line. When you talk about considering the moment, I would definitely give them a huge amount of credit for their composure and the way they handle things considering the moment. I mean, the things that they messed up with, you can teach that that's teachable. That's teachable. They are cleaning that up by Louisville. You watch these young men. I expect both penalty and lap to be 10 times better. 10 times better. Left, did you mute yourself? I'm sure he'll be back. He probably stepped away. Lucky, lucky podcast. And as I say that, Marcus Freeman, he met with the media and he talked about getting a phone call from his old ball coach in Ohio State. This is very interesting. Just had about 10 minutes ago as I had a call from my college coach, expecting to hear great job and big win. And it was, and it just reminds you, he said, the greatest danger is the illusion that all is well, when indeed all isn't well. And that's the reminder that I need it. More than anything is that, you know, it was a big win for our program, you know, versus a good opponent, but we have so much work to really improve on. And then that's kind of the focus now as we go into Monday. I think it's amazing when you hear him talk about coach trestle. He thought he was going to get that congratulatory call, like good job coach. Man, great job. You deal with your kids down there going down there and getting that win. And immediately, coach trestle was like, hey, man, this is when you're vulnerable. You're coming off a big win, you're emotional, your team is emotional, but it's not all good. It's not all good. So don't fall prey to that. I thought that was man. I love that. I love coach trestle and his wisdom in knowing that and not falling prey to congratulating his protégé and just throwing flowers at his feet after a huge win. That was a huge win. You can't deny that. Huge win on Saturday night, but he got him back refocused. And that's what you love. You know, sometimes that's how you know you have great people in your life because when you're expecting to receive love, they love you enough to tell you the truth and to tell you what you don't necessarily want to hear in that moment. Super excited for coach Freeman that over the last two and a half years, he's had coach trestle and who hopes to lean on for things in moments like that. Love that for him. Coach Freeman also talked about his offensive lineman. He talked about his offensive lineman, what they did, how they improved, and I thought the love he has for those young men and just the entire staff. When they flat out said, these young men give us the best chance to win, man, honestly, I think that showed to be true of itself to be very true on Saturday night. I was really proud of the way they performed. They did a good job versus a really tough defensive line and they battled. And you know, there's some mistakes that maybe to the normal person's eye is like, man, that's an old lineman's fault, but there's also some things as a coaching staff that we got to put them in better situations, you know, make some different checks and things like that. But they continued to battle, even after, you know, maybe you got beat, you got a holding call, you had a false start, like they reloaded and they went back and performed and they really competed through all four quarters. So we're really pleased with the performance of our offensive line. I was pleased as well, coach, as most Notre Dame fans would probably echo that. Please, with the anxiety that was connected to their start, the anxiety that was connected to going into the game with a collection of six starts across that entire offensive line, Emil Wagner was a question of right tackle. Ladies and gentlemen, you watch Emil Wagner on this film. Hey, he made a decision. Hey, hey, after Craig and Billy Shroud, monsters, monsters in that game, right? And if we have to, all we have to worry about is Sam Pendleton really getting locked in from a communication standpoint and learning how to check its inside and get outside to that blitzer. That's something he learns with reps. You learn that with reps. He's going to be okay. Anthony Knapp, he has to trust himself. He met with the media left. He said, yo, I got beat by the spend move. And then I anticipated the spend move on that holding penalty I got. And I panicked a little bit. And I trust myself. This, he, this is a kid that's like, yo, I know the mistake I made. Now, I don't know if I'm going to face. No, I take that back. He will face the gelato, the gelato kid from Louisville. He's gonna be a task. Matter of fact, that Louisville defensive line would probably be the next test. But offensive line when Louisville comes to town. But man, that Austin gelato, I think that's his name. I think I said, it's just like, I just call him ice cream. Oh, yeah. Was he Italian? I'm not sure, bro. I don't want to say he'd say, I know the breakdown of his ethnicity. You know what I'm saying? But yeah, but I'd be definitely that's the next test. But I mean, either way, it goes that we're still a test for other programs. I think other teams respect us as a measurement or a measurement stick, you could say, in terms of how good their D line is. It's the consistency of no other names. So, as much as we're worried about defensive lines out there, I'm sure they're worried about us. Because it's not like every year, we're worried about the same defensive line every year. Every year for us is a new one that pops up. Yeah. What we know about us is that we're here every year. So, it's like, you're going to get something. You know what's up. That is. Clemson had their four defensive line in all Americans that we hung with in the playoffs. Florida State, when they was winning championships, we played down. So, we played teams that had ups and downs in their D lines. But no name has always been consistent. Stanford, when they had a good defensive line with Zack Martin was here. So, we've been battle tested through the years. Yeah. So, I would be over the top, asking a lot. That's his name. A lot. But I would be over the top about what these young men were able to produce. Because I think they went into the game. I think Mark Sriman alluded to this in his post game presser like, dude, they shaped the game plan around those youngsters. And he talked about it in that clip. We have to continue to do a better job of putting them in the right position, right? Max Pro, using six in Max Pro, using seven in Max Pro. You saw them chip with the running back as they went out to the flat. They did a lot to help Anthony Knapp and Sam Pendleton. So, I think, you know, they know what they have to do until they can get these young men to a point where they can trust them to give this pass in game three plus seconds. Because they have a talent at why I received it to him. It's not all for the office lives. It's for Riley Letter, too. I mean, it's everybody in concert. Everyone works in concert. I'm with you, bro. I'm with you. I'm absolutely with you. I agree on that, man. Mark Sriman, he gives us a peek into his thoughts on the NIU Huskies as they come into Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday. Emotions of a victory or defeat affect the way you evaluate what you need to do to improve. And we have to believe that our preparation is the key to us having success on Saturdays. And that's what we'll continue to rely on is that, hey, let's evaluate the film, really understand and own the mistakes that we've made as coaches and players, and then come up with a process to fix it and go attack it on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. And then we get a chance to go out and play on Saturday. So we have to prepare and we have to have a critical eye. What is he talking about that critical eye as a coach? Not being forgiven. He's not forgiving. Because, you know, when you get a W, sometimes you'll forgive certain things. But, you know, as a parent, sometimes like, all right, I could snap, but I'm really not going to say anything. What do you think is the temperament of the coaches this week, love? Well, I just think embracing the new challenge of this is a different team. You got to start over, you know, you're trying to be one and all every week. So this is a team that you got to start ground up. Your process has to be the same and how you break down and prepare week to week. Because that's the consistency that allows you to win. You can't go into each week coming up with a new way of how you're going to stop this team or resting on what you did last week. You're always being that, okay, after seven days, what's the same process with your last money to prepare? And, you know, next play mentality and, you know, the 24-hour rule, all of those things they talk about to be able to be able to live in the present moment, but also realize that the season is fast. So you're thinking about an emotional win, and you've got an opponent that you're supposed to be and you lose to, 'cause you're usually not focused. So that's half the battle is having success, but still staying motivated. Yeah, that's a good point. We have super chats from my guy Anthony Solomon. Thank you for tapping in tonight. Thank you for the super chat. Thanks for the show. Gentlemen, thank you. Anthony is always one of our day-one guys locked in with us, as always another super chat from D. Martin, Mr. Food lover, the players that played for those coaches. Oh, speaking about the podcast, you know, I mean, Oscar, the bride, Reggie Brooks, they want to show this week. They played for Lou Hose. We've had Shane Walton on. He played for Bob Davie. I believe he played for Willingham as well. We had Derek Currion. We're going to have Derek Currion. We're going to have Chris Zorich on. We're going to have CJ Procyce on this season. Devin Butler, Mission Derek Curry, Cam McDaniel. We have a lineup coming all season long, a former Notre Dame players. That's why you need to get over to patreon.com/luckyluckynetwork. When we come back, love, you ready to talk coordinators before we get out of here? Let's talk coordinators. And then we'll talk about who has the most pressure now with the expanded playoffs, interesting conversation. Malik Zair, Sean Davis, Lucky Lucky Podcast. We've been it different different. At King Super's pharmacy, Care is making it easy to get vaccinated. Care is helping you stay protected from flu, COVID, and RSV. Seasonal vaccines are available seven days a week with evening hours. 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